Transfer of an individual account between spouses

The transfer of an individual account between spouses may trigger gift tax if the recipient cannot prove that the assets in the account also belonged to him or her in part or in full beforehand.

Unlike a joint account, an individual account or custody account is generally attributable solely to the account holder, even in the case of married couples. In the event of a gratuitous transfer of the account to the other spouse, the latter must therefore prove that no gift has been made or that the gift only covers part of the transferred assets, says the Federal Fiscal Court. This also includes evidence to support the claim that the assets were already fully or partially attributable to the recipient in the internal relationship before the transfer.